November 15th 2023.
Mumbai: The state government is likely to seek more time from Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil as the work to verify old records to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas is underway at a satisfactory pace, but the Backward Classes Commission will need more time to ascertain the backwardness of the Maratha community.
Highly placed sources within the government have revealed that the committee under Justice Shinde, which is verifying old records to find mentions of Kunbi caste, will need about a month more to submit its report. It is within the 24 December limit given by Jarange-Patil.
The Kunbi entries from the records will benefit only about 3-4 lakh members of the Maratha community. Though Jarange-Patil had been pushing his demand of Kunbi certificates for 'all' Marathas, it is unlikely to stand in legal scrutiny and also the government is unlikely to go for it for the fear of probable OBC unrest.
The other option is to verify the 'backwardness' of the Maratha community through the backward classes commission of the state. The state government has already requested the commission in this regard. But, since one of the previous two reports of the commission was struck down by the Supreme Court and the other had stated that the Maratha community is not backward, the current commission will have to begin the process of assessing the backwardness afresh. This will require more time, the officials have said.
BJP leader and former Chairman of the cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha quota, Chandrakant Patil, said that the three-stage process for the Maratha quota is being followed by the state government. He also said that if very stringent timelines are given, there would be agitations, and that won't help resolve the issues.
Meanwhile, Jarange Patil has said that for more than 70 years, the Marathas have been deprived of the quota that should have been theirs. He also said that the government should provide the Marathas with the benefits they deserve. He has also urged the government to provide an adequate quota for the Maratha community.
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